Ensilage elevator for pit silos



Jan. 6, 1931. gwm 1,787,651

ENSILAGE ELEVATOR FOR PIT sIL'ds Filed Jan. 25,, 1929 2 Shuts-Sheet 1Jan. 6, 1931. F. ZWINK 1,787,651

ENSILAGE EuJvA'rbn FOR PIT sn-ds Filed Jan. 25. 1929 2Shoots-Sheot 2,flttomoqo.

FRANK lzwnvx, or LOUP. CITY, irniaarl'ss'a nnsrrzaes ELEVATOR r03. msILos' Application fiIed Jamaal- 25, 1929.: Serial No. 335,131.'

This invention aims to provide a simple means whereby a person can lowerhimself into a pit and then hoist material out of the pit through theinstrumentality of a counterweight, the device being capable of use inpit silos, and for many other purposes. The device embodies a flexibleelement provided at one end with a receptacle and at the other end witha counter-weight, the flexible element being intermediately guided, andone object of the invention is to provide novel means to put a brakingpressure on the fiexible element at the will of an operator.

It is within the province of the disclosure to improve generally and toenhance the utilceeds, the invention resides in the combinaity ofdevices of that type to which the invention appertains. a

With the above and other objects in view, which will appear as thedescription protion and arrangement of parts and in the details ofconstruction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understoodthat, within the scope ofwhat is claimed, changes in the preciseembodiment of the invention shown can bemade without departing from thespirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 shows in elevation a deviceconstructed in accordance with the invention,

parts being broken away;

Figure 2 is a top plan;

Figure 3 is a transverse section showing the grip or braking lever inelevation;

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the fixed jaw.

In carrying out the invention, there is provided a support which may bein the form of a pair of parallel beams 1 extended across the top of apit silo (not shown). The device comprises a guiding means, such assheaves 2 and 3, spaced apart, the sheaves being located between thebeams 1 and being supported at 4 for rotation on the beams.

The numeral 5 designates a block which is secured at (ibetween the beams1, the block being disposed between the sheaves 2 and 3. The block 5 issupplied at its ends with concavities 7,. and between these concavitiesthe block 5 is supplied in'its upper edge with a depressed seat 8. Theblock 5 may be alluded to as afixed jaw, an appelation which will beunderstoodbetter after the operation of the device has been described. yA flexibleelement 9 is, looped over the sheaves 2 and3 and slidesalongthe concavedsurfaces 7 of the block 5,}the flexible element 9having depending ends to one of whicha receptacle 10issecure'd, acounterweight 11 being secured to the other end of the fiexible'element.i v

A" means is provided whereby the *recep-' tacle-10f will be preventedfrom spinning around-ona vertical axis, and this means includes aflexible line 14: connected at its ends tothe receptacle 10 and to thecounter weight .11, the intermediate :portion of the linepassingslidably over a pulley 12'sup ported for rotation on one of thebeams 1.

i- ;Figures2' and -3 make it evident that a. pair ofupstandingfulcrum.bars 15 are secured t oone oflthe beams 1,-a pair'ofupstanding-guide bars 16 being secured to the ther of thebeams. Thenumeral 17 'marks a grip-.lever disposed at right angles to'the beamsl'and'above the seat 8 in the block 5. The grip lever, 17 is mounted toswing ona bolt .18 or the like that is carried by the fillcrum-bars 15.The grip lever. 17 can swing up and down between the guide bars16. In.its lower edge, the grip lever 17 has a notch 19 located above theintermediate part of the flexible element 9. t 1. r .An actuating weightmoves lengthwise of thegriplever 17. If desired, the grip lever 17 maybe a trough, and the actuating weight 20 may be a disk" or ball mountedto roll in thetrough-shaped grip'lever.

The rolling element 20 is held in the grip lever 17 by means ofaretaining strip 21 that extends lengthwise of the lever, the ends .ofthe strip 21fbeing secured to theends of the leverMAt a'point betweenits ends, the 'strip21 is attached to an inverted U-shaped bracket 22,the depending arms of which are connected tojthe sides of the lever 17/The means Ior tilting the lever 17 on its fulcrum 18 may comprise a pairofdepending hand lines 23 connected to the lever at its ends.

The'operator gets'into the receptacle 10 and sinks slowly into the pit,the counter- Weight 11 rising. A braking pressure can be put on theintermediate part of the flexible velement 9, if desired, by tilting thelever 17 through the instrumentality of one of the hand lines 23. v Theweight will roll to the left hand'end of. the trough or lever17'inFigure 3,and cause the lever to bear :on the flexibleelement 9: but whenthe weight 20 is at the right hand endgof the part 17, as

"shown in solid line in Figure 3, then the weight acts to keep the lever17 tiltedclear of the line 9 so that the line can run freely.

After the operator. gets tovthebottom of the pit or far enough down intothe pit so tilted and the weight 20rollsto the left in characterized bythe provision of a fixed jaw mounted on the support beneath the flexibleelement and the lever, the fixed jaw being provided with a depressedseat into which the lever presses the flexible element when the lever istilted in one direction.

3. A device of the class described, conthat he'can'load the ensilage,the lever 17 is s 1 Figure 3'to cause the lever to grip the flexibleelement 9 and force it down into the seat 8 of the block-or jaw 5. Thereceptacle 1O is is tilted back into the position of Figure 3 7' will benotedfthat the fulcrum equally distanced from the endsof the lever whereit will stay when the weight 20' rolls to the right hand end of thelever. The receptacle 10 with its loadrises'under the action of thecounter-weight 11'. ''When the receptacle 10 is at the top of thepit,'the' operator can tilt the "lever the flexible element 9 and holdthe receptacle =10 whilst the ensilage is being shoveled or dumped outof the receptacle. The operator does not ride out of the pit, but climbsout after he has loaded the receptaclelO.

Referring to Figure 3 ofthe drawings, it bolt 18 is not 17'.' This isdoneso that one arm of the lever 17 so that it will grip loaded with theensilag'e, and then the lever canwbeconsiderablylonger than the other 7and make the vweight 20 correspondingly effective as a means'forswinging the longer part of thelever down and causing it to bindstrongly on the intermediate partofthe flex- I ible element 9, much moreforce, of course, v being required tohold thelever in braking positionwith respect to the flexible element 9' than is required simply to holdthe lever out of engagement with the flexible element.

What is claimed is 1. In a device of the class described, a'support,aiguiding means on the support,-a flexible element looped over theguiding means and having depending ends, a receptacle on one end ofthe'flexible element, a counterweight on the opposite end of theflexible element, a lever fulcrumed on the support'and extended abovethe intermediate portion of the flexible element, an actuating weightmovable along the lever',-and means for tilting, the lever,v thereby tocause the flexible element to. move longitudinallyof the lever and tohold the lever in and out of engagement with the intermediate portion ofthe flexible element.

21A device of the class described, iconstructed as;set ;fortli'fin claim1,-and further

